Apparatus and method for laser etching wear patterns into denim pants

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for forming simulated wear patterns and designs in denim pants using laser rays. The apparatus includes an indexable carousel having a plurality of circumferentially spaced pant-supporting mandrels that are sequentially indexable to a plurality of stations located about the carousel, including a loading station, a laser station, and an unloading station. The mandrels each comprise articulated linkage that is selectively actuatable between a retractable condition that permits positioning of a pair of pants onto the mandrel at the loading station and an expanded condition that tautly supports the pants in predetermined position at the laser station such that a laser generated pattern can be formed at predetermined locations on the pants.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method ofmanufacturing denim or blue jean clothing, and more particularly, to anapparatus and method for producing blue jean pants with a wornappearance using laser technology.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There has long been a demand for blue jean or denim pants that have aworn appearance. It is known to use stone washing techniques to producepants with a faded coloring. Not only is stone washing a relatively timeconsuming process, it creates a substantially uniformly lightened orfaded appearance which is not typical of blue jeans after prolongedwear.

While it has been proposed to use lasers to etch or burn worn and fadedareas on jean pants that more closely approximate actual wear, suchtechnique does not lend itself to efficient or economical commercialmanufacture. Unlike stone washing in which the entire garment issimultaneously processed, the laser beam must be directed to specificfront and backside areas of the pant which can necessitate cumbersomehandling of the garment. Slight wrinkling or folds in the denim materialalso will impede the laser treatment, resulting in unsightly andunnatural streaking in the laser treated areas. This problem iscompounded by irregular contours in the legs and excess material in thebuttock area of the pants which can make it difficult to hold the pantsin a flat or taut condition during the laser treatment. Without extremecare and special handling, it also is difficult to uniformly impartpreprogrammed laser treatment to the pants in a continuous manufacturingoperation. The numerous different styles and sizes of jeans that must bemanufactured also make it difficult to uniformly apply preprogrammedlaser imparted wear pattern areas to the pants.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus andmethod for efficiently handling and reliably etching wear or otherpattern areas into denim pants using lasers.

Another object is to provide an apparatus and method as characterizedabove which presents denim pants to a laser station in tautpredetermined relation to the laser device for repeatable accurate laseretching.

A further object is to provide a method and apparatus of the foregoingtype which accommodates different styles and sizes of denim pants.

Yet another object is to provide an apparatus and method of the abovekind that are adapted to uniformly impart preprogrammed laser treatmentto pants in a continuous manufacturing process.

Still a further object is to provide such an apparatus and method of theabove kind which precisely present and orient denim pants in a pluralityof positions at the laser station to enable automatic laser treatment toa multiplicity of areas on both the front and rear sides of the garment.

Another object is to provide an apparatus of the foregoing type that canbe safely operated on a continuous basis by a single operator.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the following detailed description and upon reference to thedrawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially diagrammatic top plan view of an illustrativemachine in accordance with the invention for automatically creatinglaser etched wear patterns in denim pants;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the machine shown in FIG. 1 taken inthe plane of line 2—2;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are front and rear views, respectively, of a pair ofpants that have been processed through the illustrated machine;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the rotary mounting and theair and electrical supply for the carousel of the illustrated machine;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged top plan view of one of the carousel mountedmandrels of the illustrated machine;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical section of the mandrel mounting, taken inthe plane of line 6—6 in FIG. 5;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are partially diagrammatic sections of actuating devicesfor the mandrel shown in FIG. 5, taken in the planes of lines 7A—7A and7B—7B, respectively;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged front elevational view of one of the mandrels ofthe illustrated machine, taken in the plane of line 8—8 in FIG. 2,showing the mandrel in a retracted pant receiving and removal condition;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged side elevational view of the adjustment mechanismfor the waist control linkage of the mandrel shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 9A is an enlarged fragmentary section taken in the plane of line9A—9A in FIG. 9;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged rear elevational view of the mandrels shown inFIG. 8, taken in the plane of line 10—10 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the illustrated mandrel, taken inthe plane of line 11—11 in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a rear elevational view of the mandrel shown in FIG. 10 in anexpanded pant holding position;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary section of a portion of the mandrel actuatingdevice, taken in the plan of line 13—13 in FIG. 14 and particularlyshowing the buttocks expansion linkage in an expanded condition; and

FIG. 14 is a vertical section of the actuating device shown in FIG. 13.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications andalternative constructions, a certain illustrative embodiment thereof hasbeen shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit theinvention to the specific form disclosed, but on the contrary, theintention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, andequivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown anillustrative machine 10 embodying the present invention adapted forcontinuously receiving individual pants 11 at a loading station andpresenting them to a laser station where predetermined wear or likepatterns are etched or burned into the fabric of the pants. While theinvention will be described in connection with pants made of denimmaterial, sometimes referred to as blue jean pants, it will beunderstood that the apparatus and method of the present invention may beused with pants made of other materials.

The illustrative machine 10 comprises a tower 12, a carousel 14, and arotary index drive box 15 mounted on the tower 12 for sequentiallyindexing the carousel 14 in a rotary direction. The tower 12 comprises abase 16, upstanding structural support beams 18, and an upper platform19 upon which the index drive box 15 is mounted. The index drive box 15may be of a known type, such as a commercially available Model LLandcaster rotary indexer, comprising a DC drive motor 20 for driving acam operated output drive which rotates a horizontal index table 22 uponwhich the carousel 14 is fixed for sequential indexing movement with theindex table 24 upon periodically controlled energization of the motor20. The carousel 14 includes a turntable 24 having radial arms 24 aextending outwardly of the sides of the tower 12. For guiding rotationalindexing movement of the turntable 24, a plurality of rollers 26 aresupported at circumferentially spaced locations on the support tower 12.

For supplying electrical power to the carousel 14 from a main controlpanel 28, a skyhook 29 is provided which includes a first upstandingtubular member 29 a coupled to the control counsel 28, a transverselyextending leg 29 b over the carousel 14, and a downwardly extending leg29 c coaxial with the turntable 24. Electrical power is provided via theskyhook 29 to a conventional slip ring coupling 30, and in turn to anelectrical junction box 31 mounted on the top side of the turntable 24adjacent the slip ring coupling 30. Power from the junction box 31 isconnected to a plurality of station junction boxes 32 mounted atcircumferential positions about the turntable. Pressurized air issupplied to the turntable 24 from an appropriate source via a supplyline 34 through the skyhook 29 to a central air manifold 35 mounted onthe turntable 24 via a conventional slip coupling 36 which permitsrotary movement of the turntable 24 and manifold 35 relative to thesupply line 34.

In accordance with an important aspect of the invention, the carouselincludes a plurality of mandrels which are adapted to receive andprecisely position pairs of pants in taut predetermined relation to alaser station for pre-programmed laser etching of wear patterns or otherdesigns into the material of the pants. More particularly, the mandrelsare identical in construction and are circumferentially spaced about theturntable so that pants can be successively placed on a mandrel at aloading station while mandrels are at other work or processing stations.To this end, the illustrated turntable 24 includes a plurality ofidentical mandrels 40 supported in depending fashion at equalcircumferentially spaced locations about the turntable. Each mandrel 40comprises articulated linkage suspended from an overhead support plate41 and designed for articulated movement between a contracted positionwhich enables positioning of a pair of pants onto the mandrel and anexpanded position which tautly supports front and back sides of thepants in predetermined relation to the turntable while accommodatingdifferent sizes and styles of pant. Since the mandrels 40 are identicalin construction, only one will be described in detail.

Each of the illustrated mandrels 40 basically comprises waist expansionlinkage 45, leg locating linkage 46, leg expansion linkage 48, andbuttocks expansion linkage 49 suspended from the overhead mandrelsupport plate 41. It will be seen that the leg locating linkage 46 andleg expansion linkage 48 effectively define a pair of depending legs Lover which a pair of pants may be positioned by lifting the pantsupwardly about the mandrel 40 from an underside thereof. For purposesherein, references to front side and rear sides of the mandrel is inrelation to the front and rear sides of a pair of pants to be positionedon the mandrel.

The mandrel support plate 41, which in turn is mounted in dependingfashion from an end of a respective turntable leg 24 a, in this instancehas a generally T-shaped configuration comprising an upper rectangularplate portion 41 a and a downwardly directed central leg portion 41 b.For expanding and contracting the mandrel 40, as will become apparent,each mandrel has a respective air actuatable cylinder 50 verticallysupported by brackets 51 in rearwardly extending relation to the uppersupport plate portion 41 a. The cylinder 50 has a depending cylinder rod50 a with a drive bar 52 fixed thereto, which in turn is fixed to avertical actuating rod 54 disposed in parallel relation to the aircylinder 50 and to the rear side of the support plate 41 for verticalmovement with the cylinder rod 50 a. Hence, actuation of the aircylinder 50, as will become apparent, to extend and retract the cylinderrod 50 a, will simultaneously lower and raise the actuating rod 54.

For limiting upward positioning of a pair of pants 11 onto the mandrel40 such that the waist of the pants is located in predetermined relationto the waist expansion linkage 45, a horizontal waist locating bar 55 ismounted on the depending leg portion 41 b of the support plate 41. Thewaist locating bar 55 in this case is mounted in forwardly spacedrelation to a front face of the upper support plate portion 41 a (asshown in FIGS. 8 and 11).

The illustrated waist expansion linkage 45 comprises pairs of expandablelinks 45 a, 45 b (FIGS. 10 and 12) pivotally connected together at oneend with the other ends of the links 45 a pivotally connected to thesupport plate 41 and the other ends of the links 45 b pivotallyconnected to lateral slider plates 45 c, which are mounted on oppositesides of the depending support leg portion 41 b for lateral outwardmovement. The lateral slider plates 45 c have a general L-shapedconfiguration with one leg adjacent the underside of the support plateportion 41 a and the other leg adjacent the depending support plateportion 41 b. Outer leg links 46 a of the leg locating linkage 46 inthis case are pivotally mounted in depending relation from the sliderplates 45 c.

For actuating the waist expansion linkage 45, actuating links 45 d arepivotally connected at one end to a respective expandable link 45 aintermediate the ends of the expandable link 45 a and the other end ofeach actuating link 45 d is pivotally connected to the upper end of acommon vertical slider plate 58 mounted for vertical movement betweenguide tracks 59 on the rear face of the support plate 41 (FIG. 13).

In keeping with the invention, a lost motion connection is providedbetween the mandrel actuating rod 54 and the waist expansion linkage 45in order to permit predetermined expansion of the waist expansionlinkage 45, based upon the waist size of a pair of pants to beprocessed. In this instance, the vertical slider plate 58 has atransversely extending bar 60 fixed thereto with an aperture throughwhich the actuating rod 54 passes at a location remote from the upperend of the actuating rod 54. A spring 61 is interposed between theslider plate bar 60 and a washer 62 fixed to the upper end of theactuating rod 54. Hence, downward movement of the actuating rod 54, inresponse to actuation of the air cylinder 50, will move the bar 60 andslider plate 58 downwardly by reason of the spring 61 bearing againstthe bar 60. It will be seen that downward movement of the slider plate58 will draw the ends of the actuating links 45 d connected theretodownwardly, forcing the expandable links 45 a, 45 b, slider plates 45 c,and outer leg links 46 a laterally outwardly to completely fill in thewaist of a pair of pants positioned on the mandrel 40 (as best seen inFIG. 12).

In keeping with the invention, expansion of the waist expansion linkage45 may be selectively and positively limited for the particular waistsize of the pants 11 to be processed. To this end, a plurality of motionlimiting links 45 e are pivotally connected between a front side of thesupport plate 41 and the lateral slider plates 45 c It will be seen asthe lateral slider plates 45 c move laterally outwardly, the lower endsof the motion limiting links 45 e also pivot in an outward direction.

For selectively limiting pivotal movement of the motion limiting links45 e, and hence lateral movement of the lateral slider plates, motionlimiting pins 64 are positioned in selected apertures 65 in the frontside of the support plate 41 for stopping outward movement of the links45 e. The apertures 65 in this case are formed in upwardly and outwardlyinclined rows, designated A, B and C, with the apertures 65 in each rowbeing vertically designated by the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. Positioning ofthe pins 64 in apertures B2, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 9,limits pivotal movement of the motion limiting links 45 e to theposition of the pins 64, which in turn limits outward lateral movementof the lateral slider plates 45 c for the predetermined waist size ofthe pants to be processed, as determined by the distance about themandrel 40, in this case about the outer leg links 46 a at a locationimmediately below the waist locating bar 55. Repositioning of the pins64 one aperture upwardly in a row permits progressively greater pivotalmovement of the motion limiting links 45 e, and hence, greater lateralmovement of the slider plates 45 c and outer leg links 46 e,corresponding to a one-half inch larger waist size for a pair of pantsto be positioned on the mandrel. Moving the pins 64 from position B4 toC1, similarly increases outward movement of the waist expansion linkage45, corresponding to a one-half inch greater waist size.

It will be seen, therefore, that upon actuation of the air cylinder 50and downward movement of the vertical slider plate 58, the waistexpansion linkage 45 and outer leg links 46 a will be expanded outwardlya determined amount, as established by the setting of the pins 64 in theforward side of the support plate 41 for the particular waist size ofpants to be processed. When the motion limiting links 45 e engage thepins, downward movement of the vertical slider plate 58 and expansion ofthe waist expansion linkage will be stopped while the actuator rod 54,which is fixed to the air cylinder rod 50 a continues to move downwardlyagainst the force of the lost motion spring 61 interposed between theupper end of the actuating rod 54 and the drive bar 60 fixed to theslider plate 58. Such continued downward movement of the actuator rod 54is effective for fully actuating the leg locating linkage 46, as willbecome apparent, such that the outer leg links 46 a are located inpredetermined precise angular relation to the slide plates 45 c.

The leg locating linkage 46 in this instance includes pairs of pivotallock links 46 b, 46 c which are pivotally connected together at a commonend, with the other end of each link 46 c connected to a lower end of arespective lateral slider plate 45 c and the other end of the link 46 bpivotally connected to the outer leg link 46 a at a location below thewaist locating bar 55 and the upper end of the outer leg link 46 a. Theouter leg links 46 a in this case each is an integral member extendingfrom the respective lateral slider plate 45 c to the lower end of themandrel with slight inward bend near the upper end.

For actuating the leg locating linkage 46, respective actuating links 46d are pivotally connected between the commonly joined ends of the locklinks 46 b, 46 c and one end of a cross bar 68 positioned on theactuating rod 54 for relative vertical movement. A lost motionconnection, comprising a spring 69 (FIG. 12) mounted on the actuatingrod 54 in interposed relation to the cross bar 68 and a washer fixed tothe actuating rod, is effective for moving the cross bar 68 downwardly,in response to downward movement of the actuating rod 54, causingdownward pivotal movement of the lock links 46 b, 46 c until they reachrespective stops 71, which locate the outer leg links 46 a inpredetermined full extended positions with respect to the lateral sliderplates 45 c Upon movement of the lock links 46 b, 46 c to their lockedposition, the spring 69 permits continued downward movement of theactuating rod 54 relative to the cross bar 68 to complete actuation ofthe leg expansion linkage 48, as will become apparent.

The leg expansion linkage 48 comprises inner leg links 48 a eachpivotally connected in downwardly extending fashion from the lowersupport plate portion 48 a and vertically spaced pairs of expandablelinks 48 b, 48 c and 48 d, 48 e and 48 f, 48 g which are progressivelyshorter in length in a downward direction. The expandable links 48 c, 48e, 48 g each having a lower end pivotally connected to an inner leg link48 a and an upper end connected to a respective cross bar 74, 75, 76through which an auxiliary actuating rod 78 extends. The expandablelinks 48 b 48 d and 48 f each have a lower end pivotally connected tothe outer leg link 46 a and an upper end pivotally connected to arespective cross bars 74, 75, 76.

For actuating the leg expandable links 48 b, 48 c, and 48 d, 48 e and 48f, 48 g, actuating links 48 h (FIG. 12) each are pivotally connectedbetween one of the auxiliary actuating rods 78 and a cross bar 80 fixedto the actuating rod 54. Lost motion connections, comprising springs 81,82, 84 interposed between respective cross bars 74, 75, 76 and washersfixed to the auxiliary actuating rod 78, transmit motion from theauxiliary rods 78 to the cross bars 74, 75, 76. Hence, downwardactuating movement of the actuating rod 54 will move the cross bar 80and auxiliary actuating rods 48 h downwardly, with the springs 81, 82and 84 forcing the cross bars 74, 75, 76, pivoting the expandable links48 b- 48 g and forcing the inner leg links 48 a away from the outer leglinks 46 a to a fully expanded condition.

It will be understood that while actuation of the waist expansionlinkage 45, outer leg locating linkage 46, and leg expansion linkage 48have been separately described, actuation of the air cylinder 50 anddownward movement of the cylinder rod 50 and auxiliary actuating rod 54will simultaneously actuate each of the three articulated linkages 45,46, 48 with the lost motion connecting springs permitting each linkageto expand outwardly to the size and style of pants positioned on themandrel.

In keeping with the invention, the buttocks expansion linkage 49 also issimultaneously actuatable in response to downward movement of theactuating rod 54 and is effective for expanding the buttocks area of thepants 11 which typically has excess material. The buttocks expansionlinkage 49 in this instance comprises a pivot link 49 a pivotallyconnected to the actuating rod 54, and a pair of bendable links 49 bcoupled in diverging directions between the pivot link 49 a and arespective inner leg link 48 a (FIGS. 13 and 14). The flexible links 49a may have a composite construction comprising an inner flexibleconduit, such as a commercially under the name Liquid Tite, which iscovered by an outer heat shrink PVC tubing. The bendable links 49 b inthis case are coupled to respective legs of a Y-shaped connector 49 cfixed to the end of the pivot link 49 a. It will be seen that downwardmovement of the actuating rod 51, upon actuation of the air cylinder 50,will cause the pivot links 49 a to pivot outwardly, as depicted in FIG.14, forcing the bendable links 49 b outwardly to tautly fill out anyexcess material in the buttocks of the pants supported on the mandrel.To further facilitate outward rounded expansion of the buttocks area ofthe pants, a pair of outwardly extending expansion rods 49 d, alsopreferably made of a composite flexible construction, are mounted inlaterally extending relation from an upper end of the pivot link 49 a.

From the foregoing, therefore, it can be seen that upon setting of thepins 64 in the appropriate apertures 65 in the support plate 41 for thewaist size of the pants to be positioned on the mandrel 40, actuation ofthe air cylinder 50, will simultaneously expand the waist linkage 45,locate the outer leg linkage 46 in a predetermined outwardly extendedposition, and expand the leg expansion linkage 48 and buttocks expansionlinkage 49 such that the pant is tautly held on the mandrel in apredetermined substantially wrinkle free condition. Not only can thewaist expansion linkage 45 be adjusted for the particular waist size ofpant to be processed, the lost motion connections between the actuatingrod 54 and the waist reduction linkage 45, the outer leg locatinglinkage 46, and the leg expansion linkage 48, enable proper expansion ofthe respective linkage for the particular style of pants to beprocessed, while allowing the actuating rod 54 to continue to fullyactuate each of the other linkages as required.

In carrying out the invention, each of the mandrels 40 is individually,automatically operable such that the carousel 14 may simultaneouslyprocess a plurality of such pant-carrying mandrels 40 through amultiplicity of process stations for enhanced efficiency in processing.In the illustrated embodiment, the carousel 14 is adapted to processmandrels 40 from a loading station 90, to a first dwell station 91, alaser station 92, a second dwell station 93, an unloading station 94,and a mandrel rotation station 95, and then return to the loadingstation 90. For controlling and actuating each mandrel air cylinder 50,each mandrel has an associated solenoid valve 98 (FIGS. 5 and 7B), inthis case mounted on the turntable leg 24 a adjacent the upper end ofthe mandrel 40, which can be controlled through an appropriate mastercontroller. The valve 98 includes a solenoid piston rod 98 a, theposition of which dictates the flow of pressurized air from the airmanifold 34 to either top and bottom sides of the cylinder 50, forrespectively lowering and raising the cylinder rod 50 a, and henceactuating rod 54 of the respective mandrel 40.

In keeping with the invention, the machine 10 can be efficiently andsafely loaded and operated by a single operator. With a mandrel at theloading station 90, as depicted in FIG. 1, with the front of the mandrel40 facing outwardly and the articulated linkage thereof in a contractedor loading condition, an operator may position a pair of pants onto themandrel 40, as described previously, by raising the pants onto themandrel 40 up to the waist locating bar 55, whereupon the air cylinder50 for the mandrel may be actuated to expand the articulated mandrellinkage 45, 46, 48, and 49, in this case by the operator actuating afoot pedal switch 100 at the loading station 90, which causes themandrel to support the pants in taut and predetermined relation to thesupport plate 41 and turntable 24. It will be understood by one skilledin the art that to facilitate positioning of pants onto the mandrelwithout catching onto the linkage, the mandrel linkage may be covered bya soft fabric material which permits expansion and contraction of themandrel linkage. With the pant loaded onto the mandrel with the frontside facing outwardly, the mandrel 40 is ready for indexing to the nextprocessing station.

For enhancing the safety of the operator and for ensuring completion ofprocessing at other of the processing stations before the carousel maybe indexed, it will be understood that appropriate controls may beprovided. In the illustrative embodiment, a conventional pressuresensitive mat 101 is provided at the loading station, upon which theoperator stands during loading of pants onto the mandrel. Prior toindexing of the carousel 14, the operator must step off of the pressuresensitive mat 101, which initiates a signal sensed by the mastercontroller, and actuate and enabling switch on the control panel 28,also connected to the master controller. When the master controllerfurther senses that processing has been completed at each of the otherprocess stations, the index motor 20 will be energized to rotate thecarousel 14 and position the mandrels to the next station. In this case,a mandrel 40 is indexed from the loading station 90 to a first dwellstation 91. While at the dwell station 91 the mandrel 40 is maintainedin a ready position, while loading and processing occurs at other of thestations, as will become apparent, following the completion of which thecarousel 14 is again indexed, moving the mandrel from the first dwellstation 91 to the laser station 92. The laser station 92 includes alaser device 102 of a known type, such as is commercially available fromLasX Industries, Inc., which upon energization, is operable forgenerating preprogrammed laser beams.

In keeping with an important aspect of the invention, upon indexing of apant supporting mandrel 40 to the laser station 92, a front side of apair of pants supported by the mandrel is presented in predeterminedrelation to the laser device 102. More particularly, as indicated above,the outer leg links 46 a of the mandrel 40 are pivoted intopredetermined outwardly angled relation to the lateral slider plates 45c and the waist expansion linkage 45, leg expansion linkage 48, andbuttocks expansion linkage 48 maintain the pants in taut wrinkle freecondition for enhanced laser etching of the desired wear pattern. Withthe mandrel 40 supporting the pants in such predetermined relation tothe laser 102, a preprogrammed laser beam can burn or etch a desiredwear pattern 104 or other design in selective areas of the front side ofthe pants, such as the designs depicted in the pants 11 shown in FIG.3A. These laser etched patterns 104 may simulate actual wear and belocated at specifically determined areas of the pants which typicallyreceive maximum wear over prolonged usage, such as in the knee andpocket areas. It will be understood that such predetermined positioningof the pant in relation to the laser device 102 enables reliable,repetitive, substantially identical wear patterns to be imparted inpants successively presented to the laser station.

In carrying out still a further feature of the invention, followinglaser etching of the front side of a pair of pants supported by amandrel 40 at the laser station 92, the mandrel 40 can be automaticallyrotated to present the rear side of the pants in predetermined relationto the laser device 102 for etching wear patterns 105 on the rear sideof the pants, such as depicted in FIG. 3B, in an accurate and repeatablemanner. In the illustrated embodiment, each mandrel 40 is supported froma rotary actuator 108 mounted on a turntable leg 24 a adjacent the endthereof by means of support bracketry 107 (FIGS. 6 and 7A). The rotaryactuator 108, which may be of a conventional type, includes an aircylinder driven rack 109 which rotates an output shaft 110, which inturn is connected through a coupling 110a to a shaft 111 that carries apivot plate 112 at the lower end thereof, secured to an upper weldment114 of the mandrel support plate 41. A solenoid operated control valve115, shown in FIG. 7A, is operable for directing air into either side ofthe cylinder 108 for effecting 180° rotational movement of the shafts110, 111, and hence, the mandrel 40 supported thereby. Specifically,rotation of the rotary index shafts 110, 111 in one direction willrotate the mandrel 180° to present the back side of the pair of pantssupported by the mandrel 40 in predetermined relation to the laserdevice 102 To enable precise adjustment in such rotary movement,adjustment screws 118 are provided in opposite ends of the rotaryactuator cylinder 108 for precisely stopping the cylinder movement.Since the back side of the pants positioned on the mandrel 40 issupported in taut, substantially wrinkle free condition in predeterminedrelation to the laser, etching of a preprogrammed design also may beimparted to the rear side of pants indexed to the laser station 92 on arepeatable basis.

For protecting the operator and any other personnel in the surroundingthe area, the machine 10 in this instance is substantially containedwithin an enclosure 120 (FIG. 1). The illustrated enclosure 102completely surrounds the machine 10, with an access opening 121 at theloading station 90, and with the laser device 102 supported within alight diffusing housing 122 for sliding movement within the enclosure120. The enclosure 120 and laser housing 122 preferably are made ofLexon plastic panels, which, while being transparent, sufficientlydiffuse laser beams that might be directed outwardly of the machine. Thelaser device housing 122 in this instance is retractable between anoperative position, extending into the enclosure 120 during operation ofthe laser device 102 to a retracted position as depicted in FIG. 1,which permits indexing of the carousel.

Following completion of laser etching of the rear side of the pants atthe laser station 92, the laser device 102 is moved to its withdrawnposition, shown in solid lines in FIG. 1, in response to which a signalmay be directed to the master controller to permit indexing of thecarousel 14 to the next station. In this instance, a mandrel 40 at thelaser station 92 is indexed to a second dwell station 93, which enablesloading and processing at other of the stations to take place. Followingthat processing, a mandrel 40 is indexed from the second dwell station93 to the unload station 94. At the unload station 91, the solenoidvalve 98 is actuated to raise the cylinder rod 50 a and retract themandrel linkage 45, 46, 48, and 49, which permits a pair of pantssupported by the mandrel to freely fall onto an unload conveyor 125 forremoval from the machine 10.

Subsequent indexing of the carousel 14 thereupon moves a mandrel 40 fromthe unload station 94 to the mandrel rotation station 95, where, throughreverse actuation of the solenoid valve 115, the mandrel 40 is rotatedin an opposite 180° direction to again direct the front of the mandrel40 outwardly of the machine for receiving another pair of pant, uponsubsequent indexing of the mandrel to the loading station 90.

It will be understood by one skilled in the art that following etchingof the predetermined wear patterns into a pair of pants 11 processed bythe machine 10, the pants 11 still may be stone washed in a conventionalmanner. The stone washing process, however, may be substantiallyshortened. Indeed, the machine of the present invention not only isoperable for providing more versatile and realistic simulated wearpatterns, but the overall processing time may be less than conventionalstone washing processes.

From the foregoing, an apparatus and method is provided for efficientlyand reliably etching wear or other simulated wear patterns into denimpants using lasers. The machine accommodates different styles and sizesof denim pants, while presenting the pants to a laser station in tautpredetermined relation to the laser device for repeatable preprogrammedlaser treatment in a continuous manufacturing operation. Thecarousel-mounted mandrels further permit a plurality of pants to besimultaneously and safely processed with a single operator.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for forming predetermined patternsinto cloth pants comprising: a carousel having a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced pant-receiving mandrels; an indexing device forsequentially rotating said carousel to successively position saidmandrels to a plurality of stations located about the carousel includinga loading station, a laser station, and an unloading station; saidmandrels each being selectively actuatable from a retracted conditionthat permits positioning of a pair of pants onto the mandrel at theloading station to an expanded condition that tautly supports the pantson the mandrel; said laser station including a laser device forimparting a predetermined etched pattern at a predetermined location ona pair of pants supported by a mandrel upon indexing of the mandrel tosaid laser station; and said mandrels being selectively actuatable fromsaid extended condition to said retracted condition to permit removal ofsaid pants from said mandrel upon indexing of the mandrel to saidunloading station.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said mandrelsare supported in dependent fashion from said carousel.
 3. The apparatusof claim 1 in which each of said mandrels has a respective selectivelyoperable actuating device for transforming said mandrels between saidretracted and expanded conditions.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 in whichsaid mandrels each comprise articulated linkage, and the actuatingdevice for each mandrel is selectively operable for expanding andcontracting the articulated linkage.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 inwhich said mandrels include a waist portion and a pair of depending legportions over which a pair of pants is positioned.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1 in which said mandrel supports said pants with a front sidefacing outwardly at said laser station for enabling etching of saidpredetermined etched pattern at a determined location on a front side ofsaid pants, and said mandrel being rotatable at said laser station forenabling said laser device to etch a predetermined pattern at apredetermined location on a rear side of said pants while at said laserstation.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said mandrels each includewaist expansion linkage and expandable leg linkage for respectivelyexpanding and tautly holding the waist and legs of a pair of pantspositioned on the mandrel.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7 in which saidmandrels each include buttocks expansion linkage for maintaining thebuttocks section of a pair of pants supported thereon in taut condition.9. The apparatus of claim 7 in which said expandable leg linkage supportthe legs of a pair of pants positioned on the mandrel in flat conditionfor positioning in operative relation to said laser device.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 8 in which said buttocks expansion linkage maintainsa rear buttocks area of a pair of pants positioned on the linkage in ataut outwardly rounded condition for positioning in operative relationto said laser device.
 11. The apparatus of claim 7 in which saidexpandable leg linkage includes leg locating linkage for locating theouter sides of the legs of a pair of pants supported on the mandrel inpredetermined relation to the laser device at said laser station and legexpansion linkage for fully expanding the legs.
 12. The apparatus ofclaim 7 in which said mandrels each include a respective singleactuating device for simultaneously actuating said linkage to expandedconditions.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12 in which said actuating deviceincludes lost motion mechanisms for permitting individual expansion ofsaid linkages for the particular size and style of pant supported on themandrel.
 14. The apparatus of claim 7 in which each mandrel device hasan actuating cylinder with an extendable and retractable cylinder rod,and said linkages of the mandrel being coupled to the cylinder rod andbeing expandable and retractable as an incident to extension andretraction of the cylinder rod.
 15. The apparatus of claim 7 in whicheach mandrel has an actuation device that includes a cylinder that isoperable to raise and lower an actuating rod, said linkages beingcoupled to said actuating rod for movement between said retracted andexpanded positions as an incident to movement of said actuating rod. 16.The apparatus of claim 15 in which said actuating device includes lostmotion springs which permit continued movement of said actuating rodnotwithstanding limited expansion of one of said linkages.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 1 in which said mandrels each are supported independing relation from said carousel, and said mandrels each having arespective rotary actuating device mounted on said carousel above saidmandrel for selectively rotating the mandrel 180° in order toselectively present front and rear sides of a pair of pants positionedon the mandrel to the laser device while at said laser station forimparting etched patterns at predetermined locations on both front andrear sides of a pair of the pants.
 18. An apparatus for formingpredetermined patterns into cloth pants comprising a laser device, apants supporting mandrel, said mandrel being selectively actuatable froma retracted condition that permits positioning of a pair of pants ontothe mandrel and an expanded condition that tautly supports the pants inpredetermined relation to said laser, and said laser being operable forimparting a predetermined etched pattern at a predetermined location ona pair of pants supported by said mandrel while in said expandedcondition.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18 in which said mandrel supportssaid pants such that a front side of the pants is located inpredetermined relation to said laser device in order for an etchedpattern to be formed at a predetermined location on the front side ofthe pants, and said mandrel being rotatable to present a rear side of apair of pants supported on said mandrel in predetermined relation tosaid laser device such that an etched pattern may be formed at apredetermined location on a rear side of the pants.